Electric rocking chair

ABSTRACT

An electric rocking chair comprises a chair installed on a support base having a trapezoidal form with the two inclined faces disposed at the front and at the rear sides of the chair, the side&#39;s faces supporting the chair. The chair is electrically moved front to back by means of displacement, such as wheels, attached to the front and to the rear under the chair and intended to roll along both inclined faces on a see saw movement operated by means of an electric actuator disposal. The rocking of the chair is performed in two movements, when front wheels are going down along the front inclined face, rear wheels are going up along the rear inclined face, thus inclining the chair forward and the opposite movement inclines the chair backward. Means of maintaining the wheels during the rolling movement can be used, such as a metallic frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This present invention is an improvement of a previous application U.S.Ser. No. 14/093,012 “Electric rocking chair” filed on Nov. 28, 2013 byone of the present inventor.

PRIOR ART

The present invention refers to a previous application U.S. Ser. No.14/093,012 “Electric rocking chair” by Yvon JACQUES, wherein the rockingmovement was made by means of pendulum 48,58 pivotly mounted on thesupport base 22 of the chair and moved by a rotation assembly 31. Thearmature 25 of the chair was fixed through its legs 21,23 on said meansof pendulum. Four upright corners 54,54′ inwardly directed weredelimitating the support to keep the surface of the supports smaller incontact with the armature of the chair for a better stability of thewhole.

In the present invention, the junction of the chair to the support baseis more simple and stronger while having an innovative automatic rockingdispositive. The support base of the present invention requires lessenergy to incite the in and out movement, and produces a more constantoscillating movement, smoothly, with no bouncing. The present chair ismore powerful and offers greater safety and comfort for users.

Objectives and Advantages

One objective of the present invention is to supply a device capable ofinciting an in and out movement with great comfort to a rocking chair.

Another objective is to supply a support base for the chair which hasoutwardly inclined faces on the front and on the rear sides of the chairto allow the chair to be electrically moved along the inclined faces ona see saw movement producing the in and out movement of the chair. Moreprecisely, a front inclined face is located under the front side of thechair and a rear inclined face is located under the rear side of thechair, and the chair is provided with means of rolling or sliding alongeach of the two inclined faces. A preferred shape for the support baseis a trapezoidal form with the smaller base coinciding with theunderside of the chair, and the inclined faces being at the front and atthe rear of the chair. During the descent the inclined face is envelopedinside the chair through an aperture. Means to maintain firmly thewheels during the rolling movement can be used, such as a metallicframe. As shown in FIG. 3 a rectangular frame 34 is fixed to the supportbase through bearings 64,64′ which maintain the wheels firmly.

An electric actuator device, such as an electric actuator or an electricthreaded rod, is used to move said means of sliding or rolling along thecorresponding inclined face on a see saw movement characterized in that,when the front sided means of rolling/sliding is going down along thefront inclined face of the support base, the rear sided means ofrolling/sliding is going up along the rear inclined face of the supportbase, and vice versa, thus permitting the in and out movement of theelectric rocking chair. The actuator is driven by an electric motor suchus a servo-motor, a brushless motor, or a step-motor coupled with areducer such as a worm gear, a hypoid gear, or a planetary gear. Thepreferred rotational speed of the gear is 2 to 20 rpm. The motor reducerpreferably uses a 130 DC Volt or 24 DC Volt or AC 208 Volt.

A supplemental electric actuator is also used to lengthen the leg-restof the electric rocking-chair.

LIST OF RELATED PATENTS

-   U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,295 <<Rocking chair>> filed on Feb. 22, 2005.-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,505 <<Chair and mechanism with restrained free    rocking and gliding movement>> filed on Aug. 5, 1997.

The present invention will be further understood from the followingdescription with reference to the drawings wherein like numbers refer tolike parts for easy identification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGURES

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the electric rocking chair inclinedbackward.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the electric rocking chair inclinedforward.

FIG. 2A is a side view of the rocking chair in use and inclinedbackward.

FIG. 2B is a side view of the rocking chair in use and inclined forward.

FIG. 3 is an underside view of the support base with the chair above.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view on the underside of the support base.

FIG. 5A is a view of the support base when the chair is inclinedforward.

FIG. 5B is a view of the support base when the chair is inclinedbackward.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the rotational assembly at the back ofthe chair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description and in the accompanying drawings, thenumeral numbers refer to identical parts in the various Figures.

FIG. 1A shows the electric rocking chair 20 completely inclined at theback, the chair 22 is fixed on a support base 24 having a front inclinedface 28. The front inclined face comprises a linear guide 30 located atthe right transversal end, starting from the top of the inclined face tothe end; the linear guide is intended to receive a wheel (not shownhere) and facilitate its linear displacement. A remote control 52 isplaced on an armrest. The whole assembly is installed on a protectivefloor mat 26 to avoid scratching on the floor or on the carpet.

FIG. 1B shows the electric rocking chair 20 inclined completely at thefront, only the protective floor mat 26 is visible under the chair.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B shows a person sitting on the rocking chair; on FIG.2A the rocking chair is in a backward reclining position, the undersideof the chair is aligned on the rear inclined face 28′ of the supportbase 24. The front wheel 32 is aligned with the front inclined face 28of the support base. On FIG. 2B the rocking chair is in a forwardreclining position, the underside of the chair is aligned on the frontinclined face 28 of the support base 24. The rear wheel (not shown here)is completely on the top of the rear inclined face 28′ of the supportbase. The electric rocking chair comprises a leg-rest 56.

FIG. 3 shows the underside of the chair, and more particularly thesupport base 24 and a metallic rectangular frame 34 fixed to theunderside of the chair and used to fix and maintain the wheels duringthe rolling movement. Wheels are placed at the corners of the frame; twofront wheels 32 and two rear wheels 32. A threaded rod 36 havingrotating joints and counter-nuts at its two ends 37,37′ acts on theframe 34 and roll it along the inclined sides; when front wheels 32 aregoing down along the front inclined face 28, rear wheels 32′ are goingup along the rear inclined face 28′. At the inside of the rectangularframe 34 an aperture 44 corresponding to the height of thetrapezoidal-shaped is made to cover or envelop the inclined faces duringthe descent of the wheels. Left and right side faces of the support baseare 27,27′.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the underside of the support base 24with its four faces; two inclined faces 28,28′ and two side's faces27,27′. The threaded rod 36 which moves the displacement means along theinclined sides of the support base. The functioning of the electricthreaded rod which induce a rocking movement is this one: the shaft ofthe motor driving the threaded rod 36 is equipped with a disk allowingthe front end 37 of the threaded rod 36 to rotate about 2 inch radius(about 12.56 inches of circumference). During the rotation of the frontend 37 the rear end 37′ which is fixed to a lateral rod 60 of the frame34 is doing a linear forward-back displacement of 4 inches, thus pushingor pulling the lateral rod 60; when the rear end 37′ is pushing thelateral rod 60 the frame is rolling down along the front inclined face28 (and rolling up along the rear inclined face 28′), and when the rearend 37′ of the threaded rod is pulling the lateral rod, the frame isrolling up the front inclined face 28 and going down along the rearinclined face 28′. Bearings 64,64′ are used to attach the support base24 to the frame 34.

FIG. 5A shows the support base 24 with the rear wheels 32′ at the top ofthe rear inclined face 28′ and the front wheels 32 at the end of thefront 28 inclined face such that the electric rocking chair is inclinedforward. The rectangular frame 34 is shown enclosing all the wheels atits corners. The frame is attached 54,54′ to the chair, each attachmentmeans comprises alternative height settings. One sees the top part ofthe electric threaded rod dispositive comprising a motor 50 coupled witha reducer 48 and used to move the threaded rod 36, which displaces theframe 34 along the support base. Another electric threaded rod 38containing a rod 39 driven by another motor 40 is used to control theleg-rest 52. The electric threaded rod 38 comprises two ends; a firstend 39 is controlling the leg-rest and a second end 39′ will beconnected to the back of the chair. In the present figure, the rod ispushed forward to lengthen the leg-rest in a horizontal position. The inand out movement of the electric rocking chair is controlled by theelectric motor 50.

FIG. 5B is showing the support base 24 with the front wheels 32 at thetop of the front inclined face 28 and the rear wheels 32′ at the end ofthe rear 28′ inclined face such that the electric rocking chair isinclined backward.

FIG. 6 shows a control box 42 regulating both motors 40,50 said boxinstalled in a recessed made in the back of the rocking chair above thesupport base 24. The box could be installed on the floor. A rear linearguide 30′ for the wheel 32′ is shown on the rear inclined face 28′. Onesees the left 27 and right 27′ inclined faces of the support base.

SUMMARY

An electric rocking chair 20 includes a chair 22 mounted on a supportbase 24, and in between a metallic frame 34 is attached 54,54′ to thechair and oscillates on a see saw movement along the support base, thusrocking the chair.

More particularly, the support base includes side's faces 27,27′ andfront 28 and rear inclined faces 28′ outwardly directed and respectivelydisposed at the front side and at the rear side of the chair. Atrapezoidal shape is the preferred form of such support base.

The chair includes means of displacement along each of both inclinedfaces; front means of displacement along the front inclined face, andrear means of displacement along the rear inclined face. A particularmeans of displacement are wheels rolling along the inclined faces onlinear guides made of a material facilitating the displacement of thewheels. Means of displacement could be replaced by slide profiles, orlinear ball bearing guide.

The linear guides are used more particularly for the wheels on the leftside face 27 of the trapezoidal-shape.

A threaded rod 36 device of an electric threaded rod dispositive havingrotating joints equipped with counter-nuts is disposed such that bothends are connected to the frame 34 for moving it along the inclinedsides on a see saw movement. When front wheels 32 attached to the frameare going down along the front inclined face 28, rear wheels 32′ aregoing up along the rear inclined face 28′.

The frame may comprise a lateral rod 60 on which the threaded rod acts,more precisely the threaded rod 36 comprises a front end 37 and a rearend 37′, the rear end acts on the lateral rod, and the front end 37 isdoing a linear forward-back displacement of about 4 inches; thus pushingor pulling the lateral rod 60. When the rear end 37′ is pushing thelateral rod 60 the frame is rolling down along the front inclined face28 (and rolling up along the rear inclined face 28′), and when the rearend 37′ of the threaded rod is pulling the lateral rod, the frame isrolling up the front inclined face 28 and going down along the rearinclined face 28′. Bearings 64,64′ are used to attach the support base24 to the frame 34.

The threaded rod 36 is driven by an electric motor 50 such as aservo-motor, a brush less motor, or a step-motor coupled with a reducer.

The reducer is a worm gear, a hypoid gear, or a planetary gear. Thepreferred rotational speed of the gear is 2 to 20 rpm. The rocking iscommanded by a remote control 52 allowing a user to choose a preferredspeed of rocking.

The electric motor 50 coupled with the reducer can be replaced by alinear programmable electric actuator. This unit will permit to controlthe speed acceleration or the speed deceleration of the in and outmovement of the rocking chair.

At the inside of the rectangular frame 34 an aperture 44 correspondingto the height of the trapezoidal-shaped is made to envelop the inclinedfaces during the descent of the wheels.

A supplemental actuator device 38 can also be used to lengthen theleg-rest 52 of the electric rocking-chair 20. The supplemental electricactuator is driven by a motor 40 driving the rod 39 which lengthens theleg-rest. A control box is used to regulate both motors 40,50.

It is to be clearly understood that the instant description withreference to the annexed drawing is made in an indicative manner andthat the preferred embodiments described herein are meant in no way tolimit further embodiments realizable within the scope of the invention.The matter which is claimed as being inventive and new is limited onlyby the following claims.

PARTS

-   20 Electric rocking chair-   22 Chair-   24 Support base-   26 A protective floor mat-   27,27′ Left and right side faces of the support base-   28,28′ Front and rear inclined faces of the support base-   30,30′ Front and rear linear guides-   32,32′ Front and rear wheels-   34 Rectangular metallic frame-   36 Threaded rod-   37,37′ Both ends of the rod 38-   38 A rod driving the leg-rest-   39 Threaded rod pushing or pulling the leg-rest-   40 Motor driving the leg-rest-   42,42′ Shafts of the front and the rear wheels-   44 Aperture-   46 Box control-   48 A reducer coupled with the electric motor 50-   50 Electric motor driving the threaded rod 36-   52 Remote control-   54,54 Attachment means of the frame 34 to the chair-   56 Leg-rest-   58,58′ Rotating joints-   60 Lateral rod bar on the frame-   64,64′ Bearings attaching the support base 24 to the frame 34

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. An electric rockingchair (20) comprising a chair (22) mounted on a support base (24) incombination with means of electric actuator; said support basecontaining a front inclined face (28) and a rear inclined face (28′)outwardly directed and respectively disposed at the front side and atthe rear side of said chair; said chair containing on the undersidemeans of displacement to be moved along each of both said inclinedfaces; front means of displacement to be moved along said front inclinedface, and rear means of displacement along said rear inclined face; saidmeans of electric actuator containing a threaded rod (36) acting on bothsaid means of displacement and moving them along their correspondinginclined face on a see saw movement in order that when said front meansof displacement is going down on said front inclined face, said rearmeans of displacement is going up along the rear inclined face, and whensaid front means of displacement is going up on said front inclinedface, said rear means of displacement is going down along the rearinclined face; thereby causing a rocking movement of said seat alongsaid support base, said threaded rod is driven by an electric motor(50).
 2. The electric rocking chair of claim 1 wherein a transversalcut-out of said support base has a trapezoidal shape.
 3. The electricrocking chair of claim 1 wherein said means of displacement are means ofwheels rolling along said inclined faces.
 4. The electric rocking chairof claim 1 wherein said means of displacement are slide profiles.
 5. Theelectric rocking chair of claim 1 wherein said means of displacement arelinear ball bearing guide.
 6. The electric rocking chair of claims 3 and4 wherein said means of displacement are maintained by means of metallicframe (34) for avoiding the failure of the chair, therefore saidthreaded rod act on said means of frame, and said frame is rolling alongsaid inclined faces of said support base by means of displacementattached on.
 7. The electric rocking chair of claims 3 and 4 whereinsaid inclined faces comprising means of linear guides where on roll saidmeans of wheels, said linear guides are made on a material facilitatingthe displacement of said means of displacement.
 8. The electric rockingchair of claim 1 wherein a supplemental electric actuator dispositive(38) is used to lengthen the leg-rest (52).
 9. The electric rockingchair of claim 1 wherein said electric motor (50) is coupled with a wormgear reducing the rotational speed between 2 rpm to 20 rpm and drivingsaid electric actuator device.
 10. The electric rocking chair of claim 1wherein said electric motor is coupled with a hypoid gear reducing therotational speed between 2 rpm to 20 rpm and driving said electricactuator device.
 11. The electric rocking chair of claim 1 wherein saidelectric motor is coupled with a planetary gear reducing the rotationalspeed between 2 rpm to 20 rpm and driving said electric actuator device.12. The electric rocking chair of claims 6, 7 and 8 wherein saidelectric motor is a step motor.
 13. The electric rocking chair of claims6, 7 and 8 wherein said electric motor is a servo-motor.
 14. Theelectric rocking chair of claims 6, 7 and 8 wherein said electric motoris a brushless motor.
 15. The electric rocking chair of claim 1 whereinthe rocking is controlled by a remote control allowing to choose apreferred rocking speed.
 16. The electric rocking chair of claim 1wherein said means of electric actuator is a linear electric actuatordevice, said linear electric actuator device controls the speedacceleration and the speed deceleration of the in and out movement ofthe rocking chair.